IT Outsourcing in Dallas, TX

• Many organizations simply wish to outsource so they don’t have to deal with all the aspects of IT. Working with an MSP is beneficial in your ability to quickly scale your business without the need to increase your IT staff. Having a skilled IT organization can solve a lot of issues without the burden of hiring, managing staff, and purchasing all the support software and training needed for the modern office.

A Team of Seasoned Professionals Added to Your Staff

• Hiring an MSP is not like hiring an IT employee; this is a team of engineers, help desk technicians, consultants, product specialists, and support staff working 100% for your benefit. A company that is always there, never taking a vacation or calling in sick, and can work around the clock with 24×7 Network Operations Center and 24×7 Help Desk services.
• Your MSP should collaborate with your team, provide consultation regarding the state of your IT environment, and assist you in your progression and evolution just as a Chief Information Officer would do. Make sure your new vCIO is up-to-the-task and that they are a skilled technologist. Your Account Manager, in most cases, is not the vCIO, but regardless, you should vet this role as you were hiring them directly. Your vCIO will work directly with your Account Manager and plan and create proposals for immediate and future budgetary needs.  Your vCIO will also assist your Account Manager so they will provide and deliver reports stating the various metrics and scores of your IT environment, collected Inventory data, end-of-life reports, no-contact reports, project status and progression, and more.  

Staff Augmentation of Your Existing IT Staff

• Already have an IT staff that you wish to keep on your payroll? Employing an MSP to work in a niche area is an option and many MSPs will jump on the chance to assist, hoping to prove their value and gain your trust. Ask your new partner what they think about your idea and how they can benefit from your goals and objectives. 

IT Security and Leading-Edge Security Solutions

• With all the various security threats evolving today, having an experienced MSP that uses an array of security tools, software, processes, and procedures makes sense in your search for that trusted advisor and your goal of total protection. Still, question everything and make sure your new advisor is open and forthcoming in everything they do around security.  
• Ask your new trusted partner to run a vulnerability assessment of your organization and review the findings with them. Then have them remediate the issues and re-run the assessment to see the results for yourself. Always ask questions and make sure you get the answers that make you feel comfortable. It is your business and ultimately your responsibility to make sure you have the right partner and that your network is free from vulnerabilities.
• Your new partner needs to offer and be very experienced with the latest end-point security. The next generation of protection ensures complete protection against all types of malware, ransomware, phishing, zero-day attack, viruses, spyware, etc.  The next-gen tools use multiple machine-learning techniques, behavioral analysis, and continuous monitoring of running processes to keep up with the latest threats.
• Hardening your network edge with an advanced threat protection firewall, securing your environment with multi-factor authentication, adding password management and advanced policies, and securing access both physically and remotely all factor into the overall cyber protection and security solutions. Make sure your MSP covers all these aspects and gives you a demonstration of their capabilities.

IT Software

• Established MSPs will have an array of tools and software that go beyond the human support factor. These tools provide everything from rapid remote support for employees, cyber protection of workstations and servers, network edge protection from outside threats, redundancy in mission-critical systems and in data backup protection, RMM, password protection, MFA, deep data monitoring and protection, proactive monitoring, and predictive failure analysis, and so much more. If an MSP doesn’t provide a full suite of tools, then you may find your business vulnerable.
• The cost of providing the same tools and software that an established MSP provides can be overwhelming. Let alone the time to train on using the tools to get the most out of them. MSPs get special deals from manufacturers and their pricing is based on tier levels, so in many cases, if you were to try to go direct, the pricing would be higher or no better than what your MSP is charging you, only that you get the expertise of a partner already trained and experienced with using these tools and getting the full benefit of the tools. Ask them about the tools and be confident that they know the full extent of the tools that they provide you.

IT Hardware

• Your new partner should also have established themselves with global IT distribution and direct with manufacturers to assist in establishing IT standards for new workstations and notebooks and all the peripherals. They should be able to offer procurement services to find and sell at competitive pricing. The package should include providing the hardware, software, peripherals, and services to configure, set up, and deploy to each user.

Subscription and Licensing Management

• Your new MSP should assist you with the management of all your IT subscriptions, renewals, and licensing.
• Top MSPs will have the ability to track, report, and get notifications of upcoming renewals and expirations. Having a critical subscription, support agreement, or license expiration can be detrimental to your business.

Network Management and Support

• Your MSP should have the ability to monitor your network devices and remediate any issues that arise, whether it is cabling issues, device failure, or device software upgrades and remediation. 

Cloud Migrations and SaaS Solutions

• An MSP can work to your advantage by assisting you in reducing your physical server presence and implementing cloud-based and SaaS solutions. All are designed to move from capital expense to operational expense to move you to a manageable monthly budget.
• Your new partner should have expertise in technologies such as Microsoft offers to migrate file servers to OneDrive and SharePoint, move email servers to Office 365, and move to the modern workplace by implementing Azure Active Directory in a full solution or hybrid environment.  
• Your new partner should also have established themselves with SaaS partners and be skilled in supporting each solution that they offer. 

Data Protection, Backup Redundancy, and Disaster Recovery Solutions

• Having your backup offsite is great, but having it sent across the country to a redundant site makes the most sense for your business’s overall protection. 
• Knowing what steps are needed in the event of a system failure and understanding the impact is critical in your overall continuity.

Highest Productivity Levels

• Having a team that you can reach out to for support is important for user productivity. And what about the times they need support when staying late trying to knock out an important business task and you didn’t opt for 24×7 help desk support? The best-of-breed MSPs will offer extended hour support for no additional expense than the standard 9×5 support. This will assist those workers who come in early or wish to stay late. 

National Support for Remote and Branch Offices

• Make sure your MSP can offer per-incident onsite services both locally and nationwide to assist your remote users, branch offices, and remote locations. Not having this service will put you in a situation to scramble to find support – all at a premium cost.

Telecom

• As Telcom and IT continue to merge, your MSP should assist you in your telecom requirements such as your VOIP or Cloud phone system, mobility management, and broadband and wireless connectivity. Having a single point of contact and one hand to shake can help keep your systems running smoothly and have any issues remediated quickly.

This is a lot to take in and we hope this has been helpful information in working towards finding the right partner for your needs. Intelinet would be grateful for an opportunity to bid on your managed IT services or any level of support that you may find your organization in need of. Give one of our Sales Consultants a call and get your new partnership started with a company that truly understands this industry and how it can benefit your organization.